Radical Generosity

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Sermon Notes

Recap: the last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about the fallout of a miraculous healing at the temple.

  1. They healed a man who had been born paralyzed.

    1. A bunch of people were impressed.

    2. Some weren’t because the disciples claimed that the man had been healed by the risen Jesus, which was a problematic claim from the perspective of the people who had killed him.

    3. They were questioned and warned against preaching anymore in the name of Jesus.

  2. They returned to their community, shared what had happened

    1. They all gathered in prayer

      1. Focused on the sovereignty of God

      2. Recognizing themselves as his servants

      3. Honest about their circumstances

      4. Asking for what they needed to accomplish his purposes (in this case boldness)

    2. And God answered

      1. The Holy Spirit fell and shook the place where they were gathered.

      2. They continued to preach the Word of God with boldness.

  3. And here’s what happened next.

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:32-37)

  1. Why does Luke put this here?

    1. Because it happened.

    2. Because, in a money-obsessed culture, radical generosity must accompany Gospel preaching for the preaching to be “powerful.”

      1. Notice the order here:

        1. One in heart and mind

        2. They all had everything in common

        3. No one claimed anything as their own

        4. And with great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of Jesus (that and is not an “also” kind of an and but a “consequently” kind of an and).

      2. Radical generosity is the living testimony that confirms Gospel preaching.

        1. Good preaching should always have two elements:

          1. Here’s what it looks like in the Bible.

          2. Here’s what it looks like in life.

        2. This is half of God’s answer to their prayer for boldness.

          1. He enabled them to speak boldly.

          2. He enabled them to live boldly

          3. In most places and times, generosity is just about the boldest act imaginable.

        3. This is half of how they responded to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (because they still had to live)

          1. They spoke with great boldness

          2. They lived with great boldness.

        4. And, as a result of their living, their preaching had power.

          1. They talked about the resurrection as the dawning of a new world, a new age.

          2. Then, they created a community where they lived, here and now, in ways consistent with the new age. 

          3. They demonstrated the hope of the resurrection with their finances. Again, we’re not talking about a begrudging tithe. They were well beyond that.

        5. When radical generosity directed toward the poor accompanies preaching of the Gospel, big things happen.

    3. Because radical generosity sits alongside miracles as a sign that the Kingdom of God has come.

      1. Remember, when Jesus walked into a synagogue and kicked off his public ministry, what did he say:


18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)


  1. What do you suppose good news to the poor means?

    1. Many Christians take this passage to mean that if spiritually: good news to the poor means forgiveness of sins, which it certainly means.

    2. But if we stop there, we miss the point. Jesus was proclaiming a Year (an era) of Jubilee.

      1. When debts are canceled, slaves are freed, and land is returned.

      2. Jubilee was a time of radical justice, where the scales that had been skewed against the vulnerable were once again balanced. 

      3. Jubilee existed to ensure that there was no permanent lower class but that everyone had access to the dignity entitled them by virtue of their being created in the image of God.

    3. Good news for the poor is both the forgiveness of sins and the abolition of poverty. Neither are welcomed in the Kingdom! The eradication of both is a sign that the Kingdom of God is taking root in a community.

    4. And Luke made that connection clear for us here in Acts 4 with the language he used.

      1. When he said, “There was no needy person among them,” any of his readers familiar with the Torah would have immediately thought, “Deuteronomy 15.”

…there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you… (Deuteronomy 15:4)

  1. In that passage God was spelling out what it would be like when his people were living in his presence in the full inheritance he had promised them. In other words, he was telling them what things would be like in his kingdom.

  1. Radical generosity that leads to the abolition of poverty is a sign that the Kingdom of God has taken root in a community.

    1. Their radical generosity was a sign of the kingdom coming (just as signs and wonders are)

    2. The eradication of poverty was a marker of a new covenant community

    3. Their generosity had the same effect as the signs and wonders had because they are the same thing. SIGNS that the Kingdom has come.

  1. Because radical generosity should be normative for the Church

    1. Remember, Luke was writing this account to pass onto to every other Jesus community around the world for a purpose. He wanted to show them what a church is supposed to look like (that’s why we’re studying this book).

    2. Now, I’ve heard many Christians over the years say (and, to be honest, I’ve said), “This is not supposed to be prescriptive but descriptive.” It’s not telling us what we have to do; it’s just telling us what they did.

      1. But the more I’ve thought about it and prayed about it, the more I’ve begun to realize that this lets us off too easy. 

      2. Saying this is something like saying about the story of the rich, young ruler, “Well, Jesus didn’t mean that we have to give away our money.”

    3. Let’s lean into this a bit. What did they actually do here?

      1. They received from God such abundance that their money paled in comparison.

      2. They trusted that God would take care of them.

      3. They built a true co(mm)unity within the Church. 

        1. They knew one another

        2. They trusted one another

        3. They supported one another

        4. They leaned on one another

      4. They saw themselves as citizens of the Kingdom of God, sent into the world with a purpose. They bought into the mission of God with their whole lives.

      5. And, as a result, they gave generously to the point that there were no more needy people among them, thus demonstrating the truth that the Kingdom of God is here and lending power to the apostolic message of the resurrection.

    4. Now, tell me: what’s not supposed to be normative?

    5. If radical generosity that leads to economic justice is a sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit and the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God, then shouldn’t it be normative for every Church?

      1. There’s no reason it can’t be. Remember, Deuteronomy said, “there need to be no poor…”

      2. We’re not talking about a model (communism, socialism), but we are talking about a mandate. It wasn’t about a model for them either. “From time to time” shows that this was not a prescriptive model but a mindset. This is not literal socialism but rather a heart posture of surrender: maybe better stated, “No one fought for their own rights but fought for one another’s.” What is important here is that they had learned to value one another more than themselves. They submitted themselves to one another as a sign of their being submitted to Jesus. Don’t try to build a model here, but also don’t dismiss it too easily. What’s the clear point: a person who has truly absorbed the Gospel and is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit will be boldly generous.


  1. How do we get there?

    1. This will not just happen to us 

      1. The Holy Spirit invites: he does not force.

      2. It was probably hard for them as well.

      3. We may have to take steps to get there.

    2. Steps

      1. Receive from God:

        1. Let's never forget that their generosity was in response to God's generosity. 

        2. People who make the greatest sacrifices generally don’t think of it as sacrifice because they are responding to a far greater sacrifice.

      2. Take the next step into co(mm)unity. Learn not just to have friends at church but to share life with one another, to depend on one another. Trust your church: enough to give (the church is not the only place this should happen in our lives, but it is a place it should happen in our lives); enough to ask. We learn to depend on one another.

      3. Address the obstacles: what’s standing in the way of radical generosity?

        1. Practical: debt, lack of budgeting, etc.

        2. Spiritual: fear, not understanding who God is, not understanding who you are, lack of buy-in to the Church and the mission of God in the world.

      4. Take a risk. 

        1. Move toward this vision. Don’t postpone.

        2. How is the Kingdom visible in your bank account?

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